Afghanistan - Mines

The Russians buried and dropped about 12 million mines in the ground. Some say at the current removal rate it will take 20,000 years to remove all the mines. HALO figures that 640,000 mines have been laid since 1979. In 1998 they cleared 100,000 individual items of unexploded ordnance, or UXO. HALO has 1,300 Afghan deminers working under the supervision of only two expats clearing the towns and countryside. They are working feverishly to demine the 95 percent of the country under peace so that more than 3 million Afghans can return to their formerly mined villages. There are currently 300,000 Afghans waiting to rebuild or move back into their homes in Kabul.

Most deminers will tell you privately that the UN estimate is a little over the top but makes them look good when they do it faster. There are more than 50 different kinds of mines, and not just Russian made. There are RAP-2s from Zimbabwe, and even NR-127s made in Belgium. There are neat battery-powered multicensored mines that blow up when they feel vibration. According to the UN, 162 of AfghanistanOs 356 districts are affected by mines. The most dangerous areas for mines are Helmand with 5 major fields, Kandahar with 47, Paktia with 118, Logar with 53 and Herat with 86. The areas affected are grazing land, irrigation systems, agricultural land and cities. Both the Taliban (who promised me they didnOt and wouldnOt use mines back in the bad old days) and the northern alliance is busy putting new ones in as you read this.

The UN estimates it needs $185 million to carry out all its programs, including demining. Afghanistan currently has the worldOs largest demining program and in seven years has destroyed over 200,000 devices, but has cleared only 80 square kilometers. The most heavily mined areas are security zones around the major cities along the Iranian and Pakistani borders (Herat, Kandahar, Jalalabad and Khost). Follow the basic rules and you will survive: Do not wander off hard surface (even when taking a leak). Learn to squat at the edge of the road to urinate like the locals do. Do not travel in snow. Land mines were laid in strength along mountain passes and can be more sensitive with ice and snow cover. Do not turn over or pick up any items, do not inspect abandoned military vehicles, do not run up a hill to get a better vantage point . . . and the list goes on.

http://www.un.org/Depts/Landmine/program/Afghan/partners.htm

I Guess I Should Have Stayed

at Home Department

What were people in Afghanistan doing when they were killed or injured by a land mine.

Fetching water 20 percent

Traveling 15 percent

Fighting 13 percent

Playing with a mine 8 percent

Demining 4 percent